Newsletter: Today: Oasis for the ‘Abortion Desert’? And Now, the ‘Bremorse.’
I’m Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.
TOP STORIES
An Oasis for the ‘Abortion Desert’?
In a victory for abortion-rights advocates, the Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that a Texas law went too far in restricting clinics. But will the ruling bring back some of the 22 that closed there in the last three years – or, for that matter, make a dent in the “abortion desert” stretching from Florida to New Mexico and north into the Midwest? Here’s a preview of the battle ahead for both sides.
And Now, the ‘Bremorse’
After last week’s monumental vote to leave the European Union, there’s a serious case of “slow down and hurry up.” In Britain, as the financial and political consequences sink in, the media talk of a “Bremorse,” and no politician seems eager to pull the trigger -- even key advocate Boris Johnson. Germany isn’t in any rush, either. The leaders of France and Italy, though, have indicated they think it’s time to rip the band-aid off.
An Iron Fist, Now Headed Behind Iron Bars
Paul Tanaka had a reputation for leading with an iron fist. Under then-L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, he quickly rose through the ranks to become the department’s second in command. Now, after being convicted of conspiracy and obstructing an FBI investigation into deputy jail abuses, he has been sentenced to five years in prison. Read on to see what the judge had to say to Tanaka – and what’s in store for Baca.
She’s a Shooting Star, but …
Three gold medals, a silver and a bronze. Kim Rhode is the first individual athlete from the U.S. to medal in five consecutive Olympics, and she’s headed for her sixth in Rio. Never heard of her? If so, it may be because she’s a shotgun shooter. And every time there is a mass shooting, she faces questions other athletes don’t usually field.
Political Education Ahead
Right now, he’s a long shot to unseat Eric Garcetti in next year’s race for L.A. mayor. Still, charter school founder Steve Barr has thrown his hat in the ring. And at the very least, it could put a spotlight on the city’s school system, as it works to address shortcomings and deal with plans to expand charter schools. Take a closer look at the founder of Green Dot Public Schools and his first bid for public office.
CALIFORNIA
-- Police say neo-Nazis didn’t start the violence at the state’s Capitol, but it does highlight the old and new faces of white extremism.
-- California has a lot more water than it thinks, a new Stanford study suggests.
-- Some Maywood residents aren’t allowed to return home until testing for chemicals after an industrial fire is completed.
-- One student’s journey from living in cars to UC Davis.
NATION-WORLD
-- House Democrats mistakenly released a transcript confirming a big payout to Clinton friend Sidney Blumenthal.
-- There’s a deep divide in how blacks and whites see race. New numbers prove it.
-- The Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the LGBT movement, has become a national monument.
-- After six years of estrangement and name-calling, Israel and Turkey will normalize ties.
-- Want your kids to do better in school? Let them play before, during and after, the experts say.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- “Gentrifying our genius”: the social justice conversations behind Jesse Williams’ BET speech.
-- In the “Game of Thrones” season finale, women take control. (Spoiler alert!)
-- “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner is back, directing an episode of Netflix’s prison drama “Orange Is the New Black.” (Spoilers here too!)
-- Behind the USC art school mess: defections, accusations and signs of rebuilding.
-- How Mexican folk artist Pedro Linares’ fever dream led to the magical animals alebrijes.
BUSINESS
-- How to fill those empty seats at movie theaters? A tech start-up thinks it has the answer.
-- Volkswagen has reached a $14.7-billion settlement to settle lawsuits related to the emissions cheating scandal.
-- The new make-believe for kids: pretending they have their own YouTube channel.
SPORTS
-- Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in D-1 college basketball history, has died at 64.
-- Tom Kelly, who broadcast USC football and basketball games for decades, has died at age 88.
-- Former Kings goalie Rogie Vachon was voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame – too late, sadly, for his wife to see.
OPINION
-- An ecologist says dead trees aren’t a wildfire threat, but overlogging them will ruin our forest ecosystems.
-- Jonah Goldberg: Back to the great “booboisie” of H.L. Mencken’s America?
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- Do exit polls prove Hillary Clinton stole the Democratic nomination from Bernie Sanders? (New York Times)
-- Law enforcement officers in California have lost nearly 1,000 guns since 2010, according to a Bay Area News Group investigation. (Mercury-News)
-- A journalist goes undercover in North Korea and writes a book about it, only to face a bigger backlash from other reporters than from Pyongyang. (New Republic)
ONLY IN L.A.
And a child shall question them: Conservative maverick Sarah Palin and liberal commentator James Carville faced off in Pasadena at Politicon, an assembly of “mostly left-leaning political junkies,” as columnist Robin Abcarian puts it. The star of the show, though, was 10-year-old Adam Chernick of Tarzana. “How can you endorse someone who said something sexist like that?” he asked Palin, in light of Donald Trump’s infamous Megyn Kelly comment. Find out what Palin said here.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
